Always a cool feeling to run into a hot upcoming car, in this case the 2014 BMW M3, and catching it undergoing testing before release. Spyphotos like these get big attention as they show off upcoming design elements. So what can we see here? Well, first of all the color on the car is Jerez Black which looks like it will be making a return on the F80 M3 being a popular color on the E9X M3 series. Shots of the brake disc show some very large vented rotors that hopefully have some high end calipers on them this time around.

The design of the car does not differ much from what we all expect but the classic aggressive M3 fenders are there thankfully. A more aggressive front bumper along with rear diffuser sporting quad tips round out the look. Overall, BMW is playing it very safe styling wise.

Reflections in the window make it difficult to see much of the interior although a dual clutch trans can clearly be made out along with tri-color M stitching on the wheel. Photographer stated redline was 7k rpm. So much for that high revving M philosophy eh?

The shot underneath the car shows what appears to a fairly large tranny cooler (hopefully not sharing the same cooler as the manual as BMW did with the E9X generation) as well as a big and likely heavy rear muffler that aftermarket exhaust manufacturers will be promptly ditching.

Great set of spyphotos and a big thank you to BimmerBoost member @bmw335iguy for capturing the car.

I drove a MT e90 and noticed the overall weight in the turns. I had to flog the go pedal, but the sound in the upper revs made that fun. I would get terrible mileage if I had one.
i look forward to the lighter M3 sedan

Because the torque is very low. At lower RPMs it's laughable. If you put your foot down at 2000RPM you will wait forever to pick up speed. I put the DCT in Sport and ran a short circuit. After a sharp bend the car would barely move from 2500RPM up...it was a mess. Also the engine sound was so faint you could barely hear it. Also it didn't have the usual V8 sound that you turn your head for when a Mercedes AMG passes...

But the handling was totally different than a regular e92. Sharp as a razor.

Because the torque is very low. At lower RPMs it's laughable. If you put your foot down at 2000RPM you will wait forever to pick up speed. I put the DCT in Sport and ran a short circuit. After a sharp bend the car would barely move from 2500RPM up...it was a mess. Also the engine sound was so faint you could barely hear it. Also it didn't have the usual V8 sound that you turn your head for when a Mercedes AMG passes...

But the handling was totally different than a regular e92. Sharp as a razor.

Yeah, that's what I figured you would say. An engine like this having ridiculous throttle response (almost no cars come close), and flexibility isn't good because it only has 300 ft-lbs of torque from 2.75k-8k (ish)... I don't think you understand that it's not about the torque of the motor; because the engine can rev to 8400 RPM and still make torque (albeit "not tons of it") is so you can take advantage of gearing. A Corvette Z06 (making about 400 ft-lbs) makes LESS torque at the ground than the M3 does in first gear, and the M3 puts nearly the same to the ground as a C5 Z06 in the rest of the gears. In other words, in a 1st gear race, the M3 would win - after that - the weight difference would come into play, and it would probably walk away.

Point is, you are going off of "feel" - which isn't really a good indicator of anything. You cannot feel velocity; however, you CAN feel acceleration - but what your body is MOST sensitive to is called "jerk". Jerk is the derivative of acceleration, acceleration is the derivative of velocity. All this means (in general terms) - is that the higher order motions (jerk) are what you "perceive" more... Each time a piston in a cylinder fires and generates a ton of force - this is directly transmitted to you as jerk. In other words, you "feel" like the car is accelerating harder when you have an engine creating more torque than another (generically speaking, assuming cylinder counts are equal)... The car has more jerk than the other car - doesn't mean it's accelerating as fast, it just means it is changing acceleration faster than the other... Not sure if any of this is making sense - but this is where all the nonsense of the M3 vs 335i stock for stock comes in. People love torque, and BMW hears this loud and clear. I love power - or torque to the ground. I can care less what snaps my neck back more - I want to go fast, not impress my passenger with nothing.

Considering you feel like the S65 was inferior to say the X6M/S63, even though the throttle response is laughable in it - this is likely what makes you feel like an engine is good (torque). The M3 with it's measly 295 torques beats the X6M to 160 km/h - yet you feel the S63 was superior somehow. I don't understand it - and never will, but to each their own.

Yeah, that's what I figured you would say. An engine like this having ridiculous throttle response (almost no cars come close), and flexibility isn't good because it only has 300 ft-lbs of torque from 2.75k-8k (ish)... I don't think you understand that it's not about the torque of the motor; because the engine can rev to 8400 RPM and still make torque (albeit "not tons of it") is so you can take advantage of gearing. A Corvette Z06 (making about 400 ft-lbs) makes LESS torque at the ground than the M3 does in first gear, and the M3 puts nearly the same to the ground as a C5 Z06 in the rest of the gears. In other words, in a 1st gear race, the M3 would win - after that - the weight difference would come into play, and it would probably walk away.

Point is, you are going off of "feel" - which isn't really a good indicator of anything. You cannot feel velocity; however, you CAN feel acceleration - but what your body is MOST sensitive to is called "jerk". Jerk is the derivative of acceleration, acceleration is the derivative of velocity. All this means (in general terms) - is that the higher order motions (jerk) are what you "perceive" more... Each time a piston in a cylinder fires and generates a ton of force - this is directly transmitted to you as jerk. In other words, you "feel" like the car is accelerating harder when you have an engine creating more torque than another (generically speaking, assuming cylinder counts are equal)... The car has more jerk than the other car - doesn't mean it's accelerating as fast, it just means it is changing acceleration faster than the other... Not sure if any of this is making sense - but this is where all the nonsense of the M3 vs 335i stock for stock comes in. People love torque, and BMW hears this loud and clear. I love power - or torque to the ground. I can care less what snaps my neck back more - I want to go fast, not impress my passenger with nothing.

Considering you feel like the S65 was inferior to say the X6M/S63, even though the throttle response is laughable in it - this is likely what makes you feel like an engine is good (torque). The M3 with it's measly 295 torques beats the X6M to 160 km/h - yet you feel the S63 was superior somehow. I don't understand it - and never will, but to each their own.

With VW recently having announced a 10DCT, that age may soon be upon us. Even the 335d is pretty quick with a 6AT and much more efficient than a 335i.

Remember, not every event in daily driving is a drag race.

Yeah, I agree. I actually like diesels - for their economy, and they are fun in the city because of the low end grunt. For a true sports car - however, I am not sure a diesel would cut it (future, maybe - not yet)... I would rather have the revs to play with while in the mountains as opposed to constantly shifting. I hear you though - definitely leap years ahead of where they used to be.

My entire point was around torque though - not trying to say anything negative about diesels... It's very frustrating to hear about the "lack" of torque in the M3. Yeah - at the crank the N54/55 may have more torque, but not at the wheels/ground - and that's what matters. Point was - if all you are going to care about is a dyno reading or a magazine quote in regard to torque - you should just buy a diesel, as not much can compare.